The Old Electronics Boy Just Ain't What He Used to Be

My entire life I've considered myself quite the electronics wunderkind.  I kept up on technology, could connect anything, fix some things, and ordinarily take care of myself and my electronics.  Unfortunately, the new house has me completely stumped.  I'm hard wired (one problem) for sound throughout the house, and have speaker on the patio, in the living room, in the basement, and in the garage.  Looks like Ryan Longwell liked music as much as I do. 

Unfortunately, I didn't have any of the equipment to drive this sonic bus, so I spent time (too much time) at Best Buy with an idiot know-nothing that really wanted to sell me a surround-sound system, and at the local nerd stereo store.  $650 later I had all of the hardware I needed, and with an additional stop at the local hardware for some extra speaker wire and wire strippers, I figured I was in business. 

FAIL. 

The amp is throwing nothing but error signals, I can barely get music out of my first of four connections, and I've lost my cool.  I know I'm chumping something easy up - a crossed wire, positive touching negative, something - but I can't find it.  I finally raised the white flag and called in the stereo geeks to see if I could pay them to do what I cannot. 

I would have been better off just sticking to my iPod headphones...

EDIT - after taking a call from a geek, finding my backbone, and logging about a half mile between the basement, patio, garage and living room, I finally successfully got up and running.  It may have taken me 18 hours, but I did it.

I think I still might have been better off sticking to my iPod headphones.